It’s the voice of Jae Hong, a photographer for the Associated Press, whose assignment was to document the homeless crisis in the West.

“I saw so much of people in their rawest moments that I couldn’t bring myself to take photos of some of it,” he says in a first-person account on the Associated Press blog.

Watch the eyes.

I wish I understood the problem of homelessness better than before. Truth is I’m more confused than ever. I can’t see a solution.

I made plenty of mistakes growing up. We all did. But my parents loved me and supported me. My mother even gave up her job as a school teacher in South Korea so my brother and I could study in the U.S. How many on Skid Row had that luxury?

I now live in a two-bedroom condo in a gated community. The refrigerator is full of food. There’s a hot shower and comfortable bed.

About the blogger

Bob Collins has been with Minnesota Public Radio since 1992, emigrating to Minnesota from Massachusetts. He was senior editor of news in the ’90s, ran MPR’s political unit, created the MPR News regional website, invented the popular Select A Candidate, started the two most popular blogs in the history of MPR and every day laments that his Minnesota Fantasy Legislature project never caught on.

NewsCut is a blog featuring observations about the news. It provides a forum for an online discussion and debate about events that might not typically make the front page. NewsCut posts are not news stories but reflections , observations, and debate.